Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 7, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 January 1919 — RING SENSATION OF FRANCE [ARTICLE]

RING SENSATION OF FRANCE

Bantamweight Criqui Was Ordinary "Ham and" Scrapper Until Injured in Late War. Criqui, a bantamweight, is the ring sensation of France at the present time. Criqui was recently discharged from the army after a German bullet tore away most of his teeth and part of his jaW. ■ ' But a peculiar thing is that Crlqui’s fame as a boxer was acquired only after he suffered the injury. For eight years or so Criqui was just an ordinary equivalent of the American “ham and” scrapper. All but two of Ills bouts were fought In Paris. .He boxed twice with Percy Jones in Liverpool, each a 20-round affair, and he split even on the decisions,.,_ Criqui was a good boxer, but he never had a punch and his lack of hitting power kept him in the lower ranks. However, after he was wounded Criqui suddenly discovered that he could hit. This new punching ability, combined with the ring skill and generalship which did not leave hlm, makes him one of the best scrappers on the European continent today and he is much more in demand than Carpentier, the heavyweight of France,,, or Jimmy Wilde, England’s flyweight idol. It is not at all improbable that Criqui will be seen in the United States before the war ends.